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House-for-pension program 以房養(yǎng)老 (yi fang yang lao)

The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently issued a document promising a comprehensive social care scheme for the country's rapidly aging population, keeping in mind that the number of people above 60 years of age is set to reach 243 million by 2020. The government has announced several measures as part of the scheme, among which a pilot house-for-pension program has evoked widespread concern and sparked a heated public debate.

Under the house-for-pension program, senior citizens who own a house can mortgage it to an insurance company or a bank to get a certain amount of money every month until death.